There were great expectations when technology giants Apple and Google squared off in court, each accusing the other of violating its patents in competing mobile phones. No one expected this case would end in a whimper, with one of the country's most influential judges dismissing the claims as "silly."

In the process, the judge, Richard Posner of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, described a patent law system in "chaos" and needing basic reform.